The use of mailing tubes for transporting documents through the mails in well-known in the art. Such devices feature an inexpensive way to protect valuable documents and prints from the rigors of the mailing system, which is known to occasionally deliver our fragile enclosures in more than a single piece.
Transport tubes, despite their widespread use have several disadvantages. Documents placed within the tubes often become unwound, making their removal difficult. If rubber bands are used to maintain a tight sprial, the edges of the document can often experience a torn or ragged cut. Even when the documents are extracted from the tube intact, they often tend to remain curled, i.e. the printed materials tend to acquire a set. Flattening or straightening these prints may be a painstaking and time consuming experience, requiring weighting and counter-rolling.
The present invention has as one of its objectives to maintain the advantages of a carrier tube system, while eliminating the aforementioned drawbacks. The invention seeks to provide a carrier tube device which: (1) preserves the integrity of the document; (2) prevents the document from unwinding in the tube; (3) prevents tearing along the print edges; (4) facilitates the straightening and flattening of the rolled document; and (5) accomplishes the insertion and removal of the printed materials with respect to the carrier tube in a facile and easy manner.